- The document discusses the impacts of COVID-19 containment measures on vulnerable communities in drought-prone areas of Western Africa that rely on rain-fed agriculture and pastoralism. - It notes increased food insecurity due to market closures and restrictions exacerbating conflicts between farmers and herders over scarce resources. - It argues post-pandemic recovery efforts should include inclusive policies that address pre-existing socioeconomic inequalities in order to reduce vulnerability to infectious diseases under conditions of drought and climate change.

1. Locking in Livelihoods, Locking
out COVID-19? Impacts and
insights for post-pandemic
recovery in drought-vulnerable
communities of Western Africa
Dr Festus Asaaga, 10/07/2020, UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, UK

2. • Predominance of rain-fed agriculture in the region as a means of
supporting livelihoods (Shimeles et al. 2018)
• Transhumance is a critical feature of pastoral livelihoods in the
region (Eke, 2019)
• Projected climate change impact on agriculture and livestock in the
region (IPCC, 2018; FAO, 2020)
• Widespread environmental degradation reducing the size of
grazing land and natural resources – e.g. fluctuation of Lake Chad’s
surface water extent and its sensitivity to climate change (UNEP,
2018; Pham-Duc et al. 2020)
• Long-standing and recurrent struggles between pastoral livestock
herders and sedentary farmers over relatively scarce grazing and
water resources (Eke, 2019; International Crisis Group, 2017)
The Context1. How are infectious diseases (e.g. COVID-19 pandemic)
unfolding in the context of poverty and inequality?
2. How is the COVID-19 containment measures impacting
or exacerbating deep-seated inequalities in Western
Africa?
3. What should we prioritise in the post-COVID recovery
planning?

3. M A L I
Confirmed Cases: 2, 348
Deaths: 119
Lockdown: Yes, nationwide
to 05:00
N I G E R
Confirmed Cases: 1, 094
Deaths: 68
Lockdown: Yes, partial
lockdown
N I G E R I A
Confirmed Cases: 29, 789
Deaths: 669
Lockdown: Yes – Several
States
G H A N A
Confirmed Cases: 21, 968
Deaths: 129
Lockdown: Yes – Partial
Lockdown
C O T E D ’ I V O I R E
Confirmed Cases: 10, 966 (Ivory)
Deaths: 75
Lockdown: Yes, partial lockdown
S E N E G A L
Confirmed Cases: 7, 547
Deaths: 137
Lockdown: Yes, nationwide
curfew, 20:00 to 06:00
M A U R I T A N I A
Confirmed Cases: 4, 948
Deaths: 133
Lockdown: Yes, curfew:
18:00 to 06:00:
Source: WHO (2020)
The COVID-19 Context in West Africa as of 9th July 2020

4. Market
Closures
Local Insecurity
and conflicts
Interacting
impacts of
lockdown &
movement
restrictions
(shocks)
Existing socio-
economic
exclusions &
environmental
change
Covid-19 impacts in drought vulnerable settings
Regional
National
Local
Traditional coping
strategies and
support systems
Impacts on livelihood, health and wellbeing of
smallholder and agro-pastoralists communities
+-
Animal
health
---
Multi-dimensional Vulnerabilities of Smallholder and Agro-pastoralist
Groups in Drought Vulnerable Settings
Stressors
Coping and
Adaptation Response
Illustrative examples of COVID-19 alleviation support schemes
• Localised awareness raising campaigns on COVID-19
• Income support measures – e.g. conditional cash grants
• Exemptions of food production, distribution & marketing from movement
restrictions
• Procurement and distribution of livestock feed (in-kind and voucher schemes)
Support Mechanisms
and Adaptation
Response

5. • Limited access to markets due to movement restrictions and disruption of the food
supply chain.
• Rise in distress sales – pastoralists forced to sell their livestock at very low prices
• Shortfall in demand resulting in loss of income for pastoralists and farmers
• Increasing food prices and exploitation by middle-men due to hoarding agricultural
produce and inputs.
Market Closures

6. • Encroachment of community farmlands by livestock straining farmer-herder
relations – e.g. Northern Nigeria
• Armed militias exploiting the spaces created by lockdown and movement
restrictions to escalate attacks on communities – Liptako-Gourma: Burkina
Faso, Mali and Niger; and Lake Chad basin: Nigeria, Cameroun and Chad
Escalation of Local Insecurity and Conflicts

7. • Increased pressure on available limited pasture/grazing fields and water
resources leading to difficulties in feeding animals potentially resulting in
weight loss and high animal mortality – e.g. Mali-Mauritanian border
• Reduction in the dissemination of veterinary care owing to movement
restrictions
Animal health and disease outbreaks

8. • Impact of infectious diseases under drought conditions are critically
dependent on context and underlying population vulnerability.
• Emerging infectious diseases (such as COVID-19) are (re)shaping the
contours of multilayered social vulnerability by exacerbating pre-
existing inequalities.
• Meaningful engagement and participation of smallholder and
pastoralist communities in the design of post-COVID recovery
planning and responsiveness.
• Broad-based and inclusive policies that are location specific
implemented at different levels (communities, sub-national and
national) are critical to adequately address the interacting impact of
infectious diseases and other existing socioeconomic inequalities that
contributes to vulnerability.
What are the implications for post-COVID recovery planning?

9. • Create better awareness about the pandemic and public
health safety measures by leveraging on informal information
brokers, traditional knowledge sharing networks, and other
community-based NGOs.
• Widening the scope of stimulus packages and other palliative
incentives to cover the most vulnerable rural populations
(smallholder farmers and pastoralists) to safeguard food and
nutrition security – e.g. Extension of food distribution, cash
grants and other subsidies.
• Accelerate the operationalization of the African Continental
Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as avenue to invigorate intra-Africa
trade whilst safeguarding the participation of small-holder
farmers and pastoralists – Nigeria’s ratification of the
agreement presents a major boost.
Short-term policy priorities

10. • Safeguarding security and equitable tenure rights to stimulate investments in
sustainable land management practices – e.g. investments in soil quality,
water management
• Strengthening and building capacity for cross-sectoral collaboration within a
‘One Health’ paradigm to support the development of robust and
contextually appropriate interventions towards reducing vulnerability to
emerging zoonotic diseases.
• Longitudinal studies employing interdisciplinary approaches essential for
understanding:
• the social, political and ecological mechanisms that produces increases in
infectious disease impact in these often culturally fragmented landscapes
as a means to inform interventions
• the multiple interacting stresses affecting drought vulnerable communities
under drought
• the potential and traditional resilience mechanisms of drought vulnerable
communities and how these interact with local livelihood priorities and
multilevel environmental and health policies.
Medium to long-term strategic policy options

11. • Adinoyi, S. (2020). Nigeria: Fulani Group Protests Nationwide Closure of Cattle Markets. Accessed at https://allafrica.com/stories/202004090016.html on 08/07/2020
• Asaaga, F. A., Hirons, M. A., & Malhi, Y. (2020). Questioning the link between tenure security and sustainable land management in cocoa landscapes in Ghana. World
Development, 130, 104913.
• Ayayi, O. (2020). Updated: Fulani herders sue Oyo govt over anti-open grazing law. Accessed at https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/01/breaking-fulani-herders-sue-
oyo-govt-over-anti-open-grazing-law/ on 08/07/2020
• Bello, B. (2020). Farmer/Herders conflicts: Ban herdsmen from West African countries coming to Nigeria; Ganduje tells FG. Accessed at
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/06/farmer-herders-conflicts-ban-herdsmen-from-west-african-countries-coming-to-nigeria-ganduje-tells-fg/ on 08/07/2020
• Eke, S. (2019). ‘Nomad savage’ and herder–farmer conflicts in Nigeria: the (un)making of an ancient myth. Third World Quarterly, DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2019.1702459
• FAO(2020). “COVID-19 could not have come at a worse time for vulnerable communities across West Africa”. Accessed at https://reliefweb.int/report/burkina-
faso/covid-19-could-not-have-come-worse-time-vulnerable-communities-across-west on 08/07/2020
• FAO (2020). Climate Change, Water and Food Security. Accessed at http://www.fao.org/tempref/docrep/fao/010/i0142e/i0142e07.pdf on 08/07/2020
• Gakpo, J, O. (2020). Ghana farmers lose money as COVID-19 disrupts key export markets. Accessed at https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/blog/2020/04/ghana-
farmers-lose-money-as-covid-19-disrupts-key-export-markets/ on 08/07/2020
• IPCC (2018). Summary for Policymakers. In: Global Warming of 1.5°C. An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and
related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and
efforts to eradicate poverty [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, H.-O. Pörtner, D. Roberts, J. Skea, P.R. Shukla, A. Pirani, W. Moufouma-Okia, C. Péan, R. Pidcock, S. Connors,
J.B.R. Matthews, Y. Chen, X. Zhou, M.I. Gomis, E. Lonnoy, T. Maycock, M. Tignor, and T. Waterfield (eds.)]. In Press.
• International Crisis Group, (2017). Herders against Farmers: Nigeria’s Expanding Deadly Conflict
• Pham-Duc, B., Sylvestre, F., Papa, F., Frappart, F., Bouchez, C., & Crétaux, J-F. (2020). The Lake Chad hydrology under current climate change. Sci Rep 10, 5498.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-62417-w
• Jahel, C., Lenormand, M., Seck, I., Apolloni, A., Toure, I., Faye, C., ... & Coste, C. (2020). Mapping livestock movements in Sahelian Africa. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 1-12.
• Orijnmo, N. (2020). Katsina: The motorcycle bandits terrorising northern Nigeria. Accessed at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-53009704 on 08/07/2020
• Shimeles A., Verdier-Chouchane A., & Boly A. (2018) Introduction: Understanding the Challenges of the Agricultural Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa. In: Shimeles A., Verdier-
Chouchane A., Boly A. (eds) Building a Resilient and Sustainable Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
• UNEP (2018). The tale of a disappearing lake. Accessed at https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/tale-disappearing-lake on 08/07/2020
• UN SC (2020). Terrorists Capitalize on COVID-19 to Erode State Authoirty, Attacks National, International Forces in Sahel. Peacekeeping Chief Tells Security Council
• WHO (2020). WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard. updated: 2020/7/9, 10:34am CEST
References

12. Thank you
• WASAG for the kind invitation to participate
• Audience for listening !
• Contact details and links
• fesasa@ceh.ac.uk
• www.monkeyfeverrisk.ceh.ac.uk
• https://www.ceh.ac.uk/our-science/science-areas/hydro-climate-
risks
• https://www.ceh.ac.uk/our-science/science-areas/water-resources